Adoption
by BensidyLove
Summary: One-shot. What would have happened if Olivia had opened her mouth at the end of Wednesday's Child?


**A/N: For the sake of this story, Bensidy lives in a two-bedroom. We all saw this coming after Wednesday's Child, and if you haven't seen it yet, this contains spoilers.**

* * *

"_It seems tragic that at a time where so many yearn to have a child, a perfectly healthy and beautiful infant is left unclaimed. This baby, being declared a destitute child, will remain in the care of children's services―."_

_Olivia stood up. "Wait. I don't want to see another child go through the system. I wouldn't mind taking care of Baby Doe until family stepped forward."_

"_Sergeant, taking care of a baby is a huge responsibility."_

_Olivia nodded. "I know that. I can handle it."_

_ADA Cox stood up and was ready to support Olivia's decision even though they had their fair share of differences. "I can assure you that Sergeant Benson will do everything to make sure the baby stays healthy and is cared for."_

"_If memory serves me correctly, you were just promoted to the leader of your squad. Where will you find the time?"_

_Pippa answered before Olivia. "Captain Harris is still a phone call away. We can set up an inspection of her home for tomorrow morning."_

Olivia walked into her apartment expecting it to be empty, like it was almost every night. She couldn't believe what she had agreed to earlier in the day. Who was she kidding? She could barely keep her relationship together, and now she wanted to bring a baby into her unpredictable life.

Maybe it was the negative pregnancy test and her thinking that she could actually have everything she wanted that had sent her maternal instincts into overdrive. She and Brian both agreed that it wasn't the right time for them to have a child, but she was 46. When would it ever be the right time?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Brian walking out of their bedroom. "Liv!" He shouted for the third time.

She shook her head and jumped. "Shit, Bri. You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry." He approached her slowly, not knowing if she had had a flashback or if she was just overthinking. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Today was just an interesting day." She sighed and sat on the couch. "We need to talk." She read his facial expression and knew exactly what he was thinking. "It's not about a case. It's personal." That was something they both hated about him working in IAB. They went from constantly talking to barely talking at all, afraid of what the consequences may be.

"Okay.." He said slowly and sat next to her on the couch. "What's going on?"

"I want a baby."

He sighed. "Liv, we talked about this. Right now is just not a great time."

"Brian, if you haven't noticed, I'm not getting any younger. We don't have all the time in the world to just wait." She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. "That's why I filed for adoption today." She spoke quietly.

"Excuse me, what?" Brian looked at her with shock and awe written all over his face. "Without asking me first?"

She knew this would lead to a possible argument, but she couldn't say no. "God, Brian, it was a split second decision. It was this or have the baby put in the system."

"A fucking text would have been nice saying that you decided to go adopt a kid!"

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you replied to my messages every once in a while."

"I'm sorry that my _job _prevents that."

"Really not a good excuse. I run an entire _squad_ and I still put this relationship first. I can't say the same about you." She crossed her arms.

Brian leaned back against the cushion and smirked. "The tables are turning. It's not a good feeling is it?"

Olivia scoffed and got up. "You're an ass."

"No, don't walk away. We're not done talking about this. A child is going to change our lives forever. I know you want kids, we both do, but how, Olivia? Nobody is ever here, we barely talk, I'm sure they're going to bring up Lewis and the fact that I was accused of rape. The odds are stacked against us right now."

"You don't think I know that? It's not like it'll be the first time I'll be denied for adoption. The longer we wait, the slimmer the chances are. That's all I'm saying. Just come to the meeting, see the baby, then make your final decision."

"Oh, God. Liv is the baby from a case? Do you know what this means?"

"The case is closed, no one has stepped forward. It's a clean process, I promise."

"And what are you going to do if family steps forward? I can already tell you're attached. I just don't want you to get your hopes up and nothing good comes out of this." He said sincerely.

"I don't know, Brian." She looked at the ground and felt tears start to prick at her eyes. "I'm just tired of waiting. All my life, I've wanted to be a mother, and look at me. It's so frustrating because I go to work and see people do harm to kids, sometimes their own, and they don't even care. How come they can have kids, but someone like me who would die to have a child always gets the short end of the stick?"

There was a reason Brian had always wanted to avoid this conversation. He wasn't able to give Olivia the one thing she wanted in life. "Maybe I can ask for a transfer. I've been too far up Tucker's ass to see I was ruining our relationship. Everything you're saying is true."

She looked at him and couldn't help but smile. "I don't want you to do it because of pity. I want you to truly want this."

"I do. I've always wanted a child, Liv. Ask Munch." He smirked.

She stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"Shhh. It's true. I haven't been focusing on you like I should. I'm the one that should be apologizing. We'll go through this whole process, and I'll still love you and support you no matter what the outcome is."

"You changed your mind from just a few days ago. Why?" She was curious as to why he was okay with them adopting but relieved that she wasn't carrying their own child.

"Because you didn't tell me how you really felt. You haven't expressed your true want for a child until just now. If I knew how you really felt, it would have been a different outcome."

She buried her head into his chest. "I guess talking about our feelings is something that we both need to work on."

Brian kissed the top of her head. "You're right. Let's make a promise right now that no matter what we think the other person will say, we will talk about whatever is bothering us."

Olivia looked up at him and kissed his lips softly. "I promise."

* * *

"It's a little small, but it's not a permanent thing. This a pretty nice neighborhood, the place is clean. What do you think?" Pippa asked the ACS representative.

"I looked into you guys' pasts. Olivia, you were given custody of two children at two different times before? What happened with that?"

Olivia sighed. "Um, the baby needed surgery and we all knew it was a slim chance that she would survive." She cleared her throat. "She died shortly after. Calvin, on the other hand, he went to live with his paternal grandparents. We still talk from time to time."

"Okay. I think I have all the information I need. I'll call you in the morning with my decision."

"Thank you so much for this opportunity." Brian spoke.

"Don't mention it. We'll get to going."

Brian showed them out and went to find Olivia in their bedroom on the verge on a panic attack. "Baby, you okay?"

"This is actually happening." She gripped the edges of the dresser until her knuckles turned white. "I mean we actually may have a child after tomorrow, even if it isn't permanent. If we can handle this, then maybe we could try for our own child." She rambled. "Oh, who am I kidding? I already know I'm going to be heartbroken about this."

"No, don't think that way, Liv. This may be a permanent placement. I know you don't want to get your hopes up because of what happened with Calvin, but I think we have a chance, okay? If not, we can get a dog." He joked.

Olivia cracked a small smile. "Where would I be without you?" She sighed and leaned on him. "Now we wait."

* * *

"Ms. Benson, we looked things over and decided that you and Mr. Cassidy are nice couple for Baby Doe to stay with. To ensure that we can make this process as easy as possible, we ran his DNA through the system and found one set of grandparents. Fortunately for you, they are too old to take care of the child and wish you the best. I can bring over the papers to make this permanent when we bring over Baby Doe. Start thinking of a name and congratulations."

Olivia couldn't even form words, for she was overwhelmed with emotions. Thankfully, Brian grabbed the phone and was able to end the call properly. He looked over at Olivia who was trembling with sobs.

"We're going to be parents." He grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Fucking parents."

"Bri, am I dreaming?"

"No, babe. This is real. You're finally going to be a mother." He kissed her forehead. "I'm so happy."

She pulled away from his embrace smiling. "We need a name. We can't call him Baby Doe forever."

"I can't believe I'm going to have a little boy." Brian said in a proud father voice already. "I want a Jr."

Olivia smirked. "Our son's initials are not going to be BJ. What about Andrew? It's always been one of my favorite names for a boy. It means warrior."

"Andrew? I like that a lot and our son is definitely going to be strong. What about a middle name?"

"I was thinking about John because of Munch. He's one of our closest friends."

"Andrew John? Maybe Jonathan, it sounds better." He looked down at her. "What do you think?"

She smiled and kissed his lips softly. "Andrew Jonathan Cassidy sounds perfect."

"He's going to be a Cassidy? You okay with that?" He sounded genuinely surprised. She was the last of the Benson family and didn't know if she wanted to continue the family name or not.

She sat up and looked at him. "Why wouldn't I? You're going to be his dad, and I know you don't think you're going to get rid of me that easily." She raised an eyebrow.

Brian chuckled. "Oh, no. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not. Forever."

* * *

"Hey, Andrew. I'm your...dad." Brian spoke softly to the newborn in his arms. "No wonder mommy wanted you so badly. How can anyone say no to these chubby cheeks?" He smiled.

Olivia smiled as happy tears rolled down her face. Seeing Brian interact with Andrew for the first time brought nothing but joy to her heart. "Isn't he just perfect?"

Brian looked over at Olivia with tears in his eyes also. "He is." He kissed Andrew's head. "It was all worth it."

Olivia knew his last sentence carried so much meaning. Everything they went through had led them to this moment. The moment that they finally started their own family.


End file.
